Video & Race Report: Eastern States Cup - Thunder Mountain, MA
Words: Eastern States Cup
We're back in the Berkshires for the final Oakley Showdown double header of 2023, those who have been pulling double duty all season have a shot at winning Oakley gear for their efforts. The crew at Thunder laid out five gnarly Stan's Enduro stages that extended beyond the bike park boundary and a rerouted track kept things fresh for Intense DH racers. Conditions were bone dry and dusty, which kept things interesting as we've received so much rain this summer riders have gotten used to riding sloppy, wet trails. The vibes were high and the times were tight, let's see what went down at Thunder this past weekend.
We weren't sure how the weather would play out with Hurricane Lee blowing up the coast, but the Berkshires only received a little bit of wind on Saturday. Thank you weather gods!
Stan's Enduro
Peter Shearer stays on line through the jumbo rock features on Cliff Clavin. He was on a heater, taking the GT 16U boys class win by more than a minute with four stage wins to top it off. He would follow that up with second place in DH, earning him the Oakley Showdown win this weekend.
The 14U class would complete a modified four stage race, but they had at least five stages worth of fun. Killian Kingsbury had a clean sweep of stage wins and locked down his fourth W in a row.
P5 for Willem Cooper in the Pro men's class, pretty cool to see him still posting great results alongside his CCF Devo kids.
Sammy Nelson threads the needle on Stage 2, he would best the 40-49 Men by over a minute to earn his third win of the season.
The trails just beyond the bike park boundary offer some gems for Enduro racing and it's nice to see new bits being worked in, like the fresh loamer that kicks off Stage 4.
Tom Ditchburn hits the steep stuff on the lengthy Wilderness Brook Trail before landing in second place for the 30-39 Men. The Brit has joined us for a couple races this summer and even posted a win at Sugarloaf.
Ellen Noble secured P3 at her home mountain in a talented group of Pro Women.
Mia Migliorino won the final stage and would go on to finish second for the Pro Women. She current has a commanding lead in the overall with just two races left.
Two wins in a row for Avery Ellis, she would top the Pro ladies with four stage wins and a total race time of 29:18.
Stan's Enduro Pro Women: 4th - Rachel Pageau, 2nd - Mia Migliorino, 1st - Avery Ellis, 3rd - Ellen Noble, 5th - Serefina Krajewska
Third place for Canadian ripper Adam Robbins, who has found a nice string of consistent Pro podium results heading into the final few races.
Luke Mello finishes second and grabs more valuable points to extend his lead in the Pro men's overall.
It's been a bit since we've seen Wells Tanner in action since moving to Washington for school. He flew back to race with the homies and earned his first Pro men's win with the fastest runs on two stages and a final race time of 24:40.
Stan's Enduro Pro Men: 4th - Adrian Hayden, 2nd - Luke Mello, 1st - Wells Tanner, 3rd - Adam Robbins, 5th - Willem Cooper
Intense Downhill
Due to lift construction we raced a slightly different DH course, running Juggernaut to The Schist. Fourth place Pro Men's finisher Damon Sedivy knows you must utilize the high line to carry speed through the corners.
Fast Fred Bassett took his fourth win of the season and currently sits atop the Masters 50+ overall points battle.
Benoit Tremblay uses the dusty rock as a berm on his way to smoking the 40-49 men's field by over twenty seconds.
Parker Downing lead all three splits and secured his first Expert 16U win by 2.56 seconds.
Marco Vasquez collected his fourth Expert 19-29 win of the season and currently sits second in the overall.
Jesse Brunelle makes it two 18U Expert wins in a row, he might be on to something with this DH thing.
Maxine Bergeron has yet to fall off the Pro Women's podium in 2023 and this weekend would be no different, P3 for the speedy Quebec native.
Rachel Pageau lead the Pro Women in the first split but lost steam in the bottom two sectors. She would roll into second place, 1.77s off the win.
It seems like Kale Cushman just keeps getting faster even after injury, the 2023 National Champion earned her fourth Intense DH win of the season with a 3:05.
Intense DH Pro Women: 4th - Mazie Hayden, 2nd - Rachel Pageau, 1st - Kale Cushman, 3rd - Maxine Bergeron, 5th - Avery Ellis
Dan O'Connor was on the gas this weekend, taking seventh in the morning followed up by third in the afternoon.
Second place for Dylan Conte, a solid weekend on the bike but he's hungry for that top step.
While heading north for the US Open, Jack Pederson stopped by Thunder the give it a shot on his birthday weekend. He walked away with the Pro Men's win, throwing down the fastest time of the day with a 2:36. Happy Birthday Jack!
Intense DH Pro Men: 4th - Damon Sedivy, 2nd - Dylan Conte, 1st - Jack Pederson, 3rd - Dan O'Connor
Oakley Showdown Female: 2nd - Tillie Lange, 1st - Michelle Guy
Oakley Showdown Male: 2nd - Nick Frazier, 1st - Peter Shearer
Oakley Showdown Series Overall Female: 1st - Tillie Lange, 3rd - Michelle Guy
Oakley Showdown Series Overall Male: 2nd - Nik Orlando, 1st - Nick Frazier, 3rd - Sisu Lange
So long Thunder, we'll be back next month for the Stan's Enduro series finals. The season is winding down but we've still got a few chances to get between the tape. We'll see Enduro racers October 1st in Woodstock, VT and Intense DH riders will head to Powder Ridge the following weekend.
This is the last race the whole gang will be together this season, thank you to everyone who helps out behind the scenes. We couldn't do it without you!
Words and photos: Andrew Santoro
Video: Seth Merritt
Stan's Enduro Results
Intense DH Results
Race Recap Podcast
Easternstatescup.com
2023 MAXXIS ESC PRESENTED BY KATE'S REAL FOOD SCHEDULE
INTENSE CYCLES DOWNHILL SERIES
April 30 Powder Ridge, CT
June 18 Jiminy Peak, MA
June 25 Killington, VT
July 23 Sugarbush, VT
July 30 Mount Snow, VT
Aug 20 Sugarloaf, ME
Aug 27 Blue Mountain, PA
Sept 17 Thunder Mountain, MA
Oct 8 Powder Ridge, CT
Oct 15 Killington, VT Series Finals
STAN'S ENDURO SERIES
May 21 Powder Ridge, CT
June 4 Glen Park, PA
June 18 Jiminy Peak, MA
June 25 Killington, VT
July 8 Arrowhead, NH – Outbound Night Enduro
July 23 Sugarbush, VT
Aug 6 Burke, VT
Aug 20 Sugarloaf, ME
Aug 27 Blue Mountain, PA
Sept 10 Arrowhead, NH
Sept 17 Thunder Mountain, MA
Oct 1 Woodstock, VT
Oct 29 Thunder Mountain, MA Series Finals
OAKLEY SHOWDOWN SERIES
June 18 Jiminy Peak, MA
June 25 Killington, VT
July 23 Sugarbush, VT
Aug 20 Sugarloaf, ME
Aug 27 Blue Mountain, PA
Sept 17 Thunder Mountain, MA Series Finals
MOTOREX EBIKE ENDURO SERIES
May 21 Powder Ridge, CT
June 4 Glen Park, PA
July 8 Arrowhead, NH – Outbound Night Enduro
August 20 Sugarloaf, ME
Sept 10 Arrowhead, NH
Sept 17 Thunder Mountain, MA
Oct 1 Woodstock, VT
Oct 29 Thunder Mountain, MA Series Finals
Author Info:
Member since Mar 14, 2012
Must Read This Week
I miss riding the ESC so much, there's nothing comparable in terms of community and spirit, over here.